Music Friday: "Southtown Girls"

One of the albums I listened to this week was Boys and Girls in America by The Hold Steady. 

Here's the final tune on that fine album. It's a song that has always stuck with me.

My son and his girlfriend broke up recently. She treated him horribly for way too long. He needs to find a girl who treats him nicely and cares for him, not a mean narcissist.  

Sunday Hangover: Georgia

Ty Simpson was on fire in that first half. He ended the day with 24 completions on 38 attempts for 276 yards and two touchdown passes and a run for a touchdown. 

It was impressive how the Tide was able to convert third downs repeatedly in the first half. 

With how good the offense was in the first half, it sputtered in the second, and Alabama relied on a resilient defense to win 24 to 21 in Athens. 

The play below was something to behold. Earlier in that half, they had Proctor running in motion, but there was a false start, so we didn't get to see what that play was. 

I want to see him work as a fullback in short-yardage situations. 

It was a great win for the Tide. 

However, I am very concerned about how the Tide is not running the ball effectively. That part of the offense needs to improve.  

Music Friday: "Blue Train"

Here's a tune from one of the most heralded jazz albums of all time. 

Music Friday: "Northern Attitude"

One of the albums I listened to this week was Stick Season. This song is one of the tunes that gets played a lot from the album. 

I'm wondering when this dude is coming out with a new album. 

Random Notes from a Crank

In a not surprising move, the goons working for President Adolf are removing pictures of slaves' scars from being whipped by their slavemasters: "National Park to Remove Photo of Enslaved Man's Scars." 

it's just another aftermath of white supremacy running wild. 

Robert Ariail's political cartoon is a good summation. 

The Washington Post has an interesting article that talks about tree coverage in cities. It's interactive in that you can put in the city in which you live and see the tree coverage where you live. 

It's "Which Cities Have the Most Trees? See How Yours Stacks Up." 

In the town I live in, the percentage is 29.2%. Below are the previous towns I've lived in. 

Where we lived previously, in St. Louis, it's 32.8%

Tuscaloosa, Alabama comes in at 39.6%

Kansas City, Missouri has tree coverage of 34.1%. 

Kirksville, Missouri is only 20.9%. 

My hometown of Waterloo, Iowa is at 23%. 

The thinking goes, which is somewhat backed by scientific studies, that more trees is better for everyone involved because of shade, oxygen, and better mental health. People tend to be in better moods in a green environment. 

Today when I was driving to work, I saw an older lady walking with a stroller. It had a dog in it.

The absurdity of it all. We recently got a little dog, who is a Cockapoo, and he's taking walks right away. 

Dogs are not babies. 

Sunday Hangover: Wisconsin

Ty Simpson and the Alabama offense shredded Wisconsin yesterday. 

Simpson had 24 completions on 29 attempts for 382 yards and four touchdowns. He looked outstanding. 

Of the pass-catching touchdowns, Williams had two, Horton had, and Bernard had one along with a rushing touchdown. 

Simpson, unfortunately, was the leading rusher on the day with 39 yards. The Tide only gained 72 net yards on the day, which is a concern. 

Although one of the commentators said that Wisconsin has a very good defensive line, Alabama needs to run the ball more effectively, especially with a visit to Athens, Georgia looming in two weeks. 

The top two tacklers on the defense were Lawsona and Jefferson, which makes sense. And Bray Hubbard had two outstanding picks. 

We're still really missing nose tackle Tim Keenan and starting running back Jam Miller. 

I hope they'll be ready to play versus Georgia. 

Music Friday: "Tank!"

This past week I bought the soundtrack to the animated TV series Cowboy Bebop. 

Here's the famous song for the opening of the series. 

Random Notes from a Crank

I guess one of advantages of living in a small town is that you're likely not to serve on jury duty. 

I got summons last month, and I was supposed to be ready to serve on jury duty the past two weeks ending this Friday. I didn't have to show up. 

As a Vikings fan, I had some dark thoughts running through my mind for the first three quarters of the Monday Night Football game. The McCarthy era did not get off to a great start for that portion of the game. 

As fantasy football GM who drafted Jordan Mason, I was happy to see that guy running hard. 

The touchdown by Aaron Jones was bittersweet because the team I was playing started Jones. Before the TD I was winning. After the TD I lost. 

In not surprising news, the reading skills of possible incoming college students is at an all-time low: "Reading Skills of 12th Graders Hit a New Low." 

I don't understand the statement by the Education Secretary at the end of the article. She's just a flunky of Moscow Don. 

Reading and learning by reading is one of the joys of life. It is one of things that make life worth living. 

I've watched lots of videos of farmers complaining about how they're going to lose their farms because of tariffs. But I don't know about the veracity of these videos. 

I do know I wouldn't want to be a farmer who grew a lot of soybeans because China isn't buying any from the U.S. 

I wish the political cartoon was reflective of reality. But I don't know. Most of these idiots are still supporting President Adolf.

Sunday Hangover: Louisiana-Monroe

Some team had to be the collection of poor bastardsto take on the Crimson Tide after a debacle poor showing in Tallahassee. 

Yes, it was only Louisiana-Monroe, but the team looked like they had their pride hurt. They played angry and motivated. 

Simpson went 17 for 17 passing, threw TD passes, and added a rushing TD. 

Both lines manhandled the Warhawks. 

Mack and Russell both looked solid as back-up quarterbacks. They had some zip on throws for sure. 

Running back Kevin Riley got the most touches as a back with 11 carries while Richard Young and AK Dear had a touchdown apiece. 

The receiving corps did well, but the guy that stood out to me was Lotzeir Brooks because we haven't seen much from him. 

Next up is a home game versus Wisconsin.  

Music Friday: "Hope for the Night Time"

Over the past few years, I have been checking periodically if Benjamin Booker has come out with any new music. 

I really enjoyed his first two albums. 

I checked again this week and discovered he came out with one this January titled Lower. 

The new album is different than his guitar-oriented first two albums. 

I've been listening to the new album this week and am shining up to it. 

Here's the final tune on the new album. 

Random Notes from a Crank

The anti-vaccine stupidity will be infectious. Literally.  

And it's appropriate that Florida is leading in stupidity by ending vaccine mandates: "Florida Says It Plans to End All Vaccine Mandates." 

This political cartoon by Clay Jones sums up what's happening at the CDC. 

I'm with Lucy. 

I bought some plums from my local Aldi. 

I know Dr. Pepper does not contain plum juice, but its plum-like flavor has made it the second most popular pop in the U.S. 

It's surprising that plums aren't that popular. They're tasty,

As a bourbon drinker, I'm intrigued by the offerings by Holladay. I remember when I used to live near that area in Missouri, and I traveled to Weston back when it was the McCormick distillery.  

But I have a hard time buying a bourbon over forty bucks. It's just booze, man. 

My hope is that there are fewer bourbon enthusiasts in the future and supply leaps ahead of demand. 

Sunday Hangover: Florida State

This game started out as positively as an Alabama would have wanted it to. The Tide marched down the field on a long sustained drive that ate up over half the first quarter. 

Ty Simpson looked good, and we were running the ball. 

For the next 2 quarters the Crimson Tide defense looked confused, took bad angles, seemed unprepared, and got distracted with Florida State's eye-candy offense. The offense was equally inept. 

I like to think the defense would have looked at how Gus Malzahn runs his offenses. He's been around a long time, and there's tape out there of how he runs his show. 

By the time the Tide started getting its collective shit together, they had to go for it a number of times on fourth down. 

There were a number of notable blunders. The two unnecessary roughness penalties were just flat-out stupid. And on a crucial fourth down play, instead of throwing a bad pass to Williams, Simpson could have easily run for a fourth down. 

Florida State played well. Or should we just call them Transfer Portal State University? They had a revamped team based on the portal. 

In contrast, Alabama didn't lose anyone in the portal and only brought in a handful of players. 

It didn't help that the Tide didn't have its starting running back, left guard, and nose tackle playing in the game. Those missing in action made a difference. 

If a team is going to lose, it's better to lose early. 

However, the performance yesterday afternoon doesn't not inspire confidence in me that this team will make the playoffs. 

I hope they prove me wrong.   

Music Friday: "Birdhouse in Your Soul"

I heard this song this week when listening to the 1st Wave radio station on SiriusXM. 

I've always enjoyed the goofy brilliance of They Might Be Giants. 

Random Notes from a Crank

The Washington Post reports that the National Guard troops deployed for "crime" are cleaning up parks by getting rid of graffiti and trash and raking leaves: "National Guard Troops in D.C. Add Sanitation, Landscaping Duties." 

This move simply shows how President Adolf's "crime emergency" is just another example of his lies and bullshit and misuse of resources. 

I was surprised that the Vikings traded for Adam Thielan. But I guess he's probably close to retirement and might want to end his career with the team he started with. 

In a special election for an Iowa State Senate seat, a Democrat won in what I assume is usually a red district: "Democrat Caitlin Drey Wins Iowa Senate Special Election, Breaking Republican Supermajority."  I enjoyed what the DNC Chair said: "Iowans are seeing Republicans of who they are: self-serving liars who will throw their constituents under the bus to rubber stamp Donald Trump's disastrous agenda - and they're ready for change."

I am going to have to use the phrase "self-serving liars" more often.  

As is easy to expect, the Daily Kos reports that "Of Course Conservatives Are Being Weird about Taylor Swift's Engagement." 

The current administration is possibly going to depress sales of EV vehicles even though EV vehicles are being bought in other countries in the world: "EV Sales Are Booming in America--For Now." 

The big stupid bill killed the EV tax credit. 

Random Notes from a Crank

The BBC has an interesting article about the world's safest countries: "Five of the World Safest Countries for 2025." The article also provide the top ten but just features the top five in detail. 

There were some surprises for me. Neither Norway nor Sweden are in the top ten. Ireland was a bit surprising to me, but Denmark and New Zealand are usually in the top ten of most lists of countries where people are happy and safe. And I've heard good things about Portugal. 

This week's Existential Comic is a good one. It's a commentary on imperialism and the rationales people have used for conquering countries: "The Philosophy of Julius Caesar." 

The character asks a great question of Caesar: "How do you justify it philosophically?"

James McMurtry is a great songwriter. On his most recent album, The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy, he has a song about Pinocchio as an adult: "Pinocchio in Vegas." 

Today is National Dog Day. Treat your dog/s right.